


Everything to a Stranger

by The_Void (The_Hatted_Dragon_16)



Series: KuroDai Short Fics [3]
Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, Celebrity Crush, Fan!Kuroo, First Meetings, Flirting, Idol AU, Idols, Inspirational Speaker!Daichi, Jealous Kuroo Tetsurou, KuroDai Week, Kuroo Tetsurou is a Mess, M/M, Piercings, Tattoos, no beta we die like daichi, unnecessary amount of details about Kuroo Tetsurou
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-13
Updated: 2020-12-13
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:48:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27734842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Hatted_Dragon_16/pseuds/The_Void
Summary: KuroDai Mid-Birthday Weekend Event 2020Day 3: Influence - Idol AUSawamura Daichi is the most famous inspirational speaker in Japan... At least according to Kuroo, who is his biggest fan... Also according to Kuroo. Now, Daichi is coming to Tokyo, and Kuroo is determined to meet him.And it'snotbecause he has a crush on him. Definitely not that.
Relationships: Kuroo Tetsurou/Sawamura Daichi
Series: KuroDai Short Fics [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2040630
Comments: 6
Kudos: 32
Collections: KuroDai Mid-Birthday Weekend 2020





	Everything to a Stranger

**Author's Note:**

> This is my entry for Day 3 of the KuroDai Mid-Birthday Weekend Event! I'm not really good with social media in real life and I wasn't quite sure how to swing that, so I opted for the Idol AU approach in the form of an idea that kinda popped out of nowhere!
> 
> This is not how anything works but I was too lazy to figure it out so- oops.
> 
> I hope you enjoy my _very_ rushed fic!

Kuroo’s fingers flew over the keyboard. He could feel his heart pulsing through his veins, thrumming gently against his tongue as he held it tightly between his teeth. The library was mostly silent aside from Kuroo’s rapid tapping and clicking, the rest of the occupants serenely reading or working on school work. Kuroo was anything but serene. His nerves were buzzing with the energy of a thousand electric eels and he was sure he would explode if this process didn’t end soon. He had been waiting for this moment for months, years even. Okay, maybe years was an exaggeration, but he’d be damned if slow typing was the reason he didn’t snag a VIP ticket _again_.

“You’ll break the keyboard if you type any faster,” Kenma muttered without looking up from his game. Kenma was curled into a single-seat couch beside the computer desk that Kuroo was perched in front of. He was completely still save his hands, unlike Kuroo whose leg was bouncing hurriedly. 

“As long as I get the ticket then I. Don’t. Care,” Kuroo said, punctuating each word with the final clicks of his mouse. He leaned forward, nose practically touching the screen of the computer as he watched the little circle of death rotate into his oblivion.

“Did you get it?”

“It’s loading,” Kuroo said, chewing the edges of his nails as he stared intently at the loading screen. In just a couple moments he would know the result. He would know if he was fast enough or if the other fans had beat him once again. He might have to kill someone if that happened.

The page loaded, startling Kuroo back from the computer. When he looked back at the screen, it displayed a fanciful ‘Congratulations!’, complete with the details of his receipt for spending far too much money on a single ticket.

Kuroo whooped loudly, hopping up from his seat and pumping his fists through the air, “Booyah!”

Kenma snorted softly, “Who says ‘booyah’ anymore?”

“Shut up, I’m excited!” Kuroo said, attempting to sound annoyed by Kenma’s mocking tone, but he couldn’t keep the happiness from slipping into his voice as he practically danced in the aisle.

“Shh!” the librarian hissed at them from the front desk. Kuroo froze and turned around, raising a hand in apology with a sheepish grin on his face as he quickly sat back down, leg still bouncing, though for different reasons. His fingers tapped excitedly against the desk as his sheepish grin turned into one of elation, looking at Kenma with his pupils blown wide.

“Kenma,” he whispered, the excitement evident in his tone.

“What?” Kenma asked with a sigh, voice monotone and disinterested.

“I get to see him,” there may or may not have been a slight squeak to Kuroo’s voice. Who was to say?

“I know,”

“I get to be in the same room as him,” Kuroo’s voice practically turned into a sigh, escaping from his lips in wonder-laced syllables. Kenma raised an eyebrow at him.

“I know,” he said again.

“I get to _talk_ to him,”

“I know,”

“Congratulate me!” Kuroo whined, voice growing loud again, and the librarian shot them another dirty look.

“I’m not going to indulge you in your delusional celebrity crush,” Kenma said dismissively.

“Wh- what?! I do _not_ have a crush on Sawamura Daichi,” Kuroo sputtered, freezing for a moment before beginning to fidget with the various papers and pens in front of him.

“You do,” Kenma said, the whisper of a sly smile appearing on his face.

“I _don’t_ ,” Kuroo insisted firmly, staring at the desk in front of him, determined to avoid his eyes despite Kenma’s gaze being fixed elsewhere.

“You do,”

I don’t!”

A book dropped down hard on the desk beside Kuroo, and they both looked up to see the librarian peering down at them with angry eyes through her small reading glasses.

“Out,” she said simply.

Kuroo scrambled to gather his things and log out of the computer, mumbling apologies, but he couldn’t seem to wipe the smile from his face. He was exhilarated. There was no other way to put it. He practically skipped out the door and down the sidewalk, Kenma trailing after him as they made their way toward Kuroo and Bokuto’s shared apartment.

“You got us kicked out of the library,” Kenma said.

“I got the VIP ticket!” Kuroo responded, not entirely listening to him, “I’m going to meet Sawamura Daichi in person. I’m going to get to talk to him for an hour. A whole hour, Kenma!”

“My game’s going well, thanks for asking,”

“I wonder what he’s like in person… You think I should try some chemistry jokes? Impress him with my knowledge?”

Kenma sighed at the besot expression on his best friend’s face, “I’m sure he’d rather die,”

“Do you have to be so insulting? My jokes are good!” Kuroo said as he unlocked the door to the apartment.

“They aren’t,”

“They are-”

“Kuroo!” Bokuto’s booming voice rang down the hallway as the door opened, the big man himself standing in the doorway. That was all the warning Kuroo got before two strong arms wrapped him in a bone-crushing hug and lifted him off his feet. When Bokuto set Kuroo back down on the floor, he gave him a big grin and asked, “Did you get it?”

“Yes!” Kuroo shouted, bouncing on his toes with Bokuto in the doorway as Kenma snuck past them. It was comical, really. Two tall, grown men grinning like idiots, and bouncing up and down while making small noises of excitement he only heard from small groups of children at the park.

“Hey, hey, hey! You did it, bro!” Bokuto congratulated him with a clap on the shoulder and they both made their way into the apartment.

Akaashi and Kenma were snuggled together on the couch, a book in Akaashi’s hands and the game system still clutched in Kenma’s. It was cute, the way they just seemed to fit together in their little corner of the couch; Kenma’s head resting on Akaashi’s chest as he tucked himself in between Akaashi’s legs. Kenma’s head acted as a sort of chin rest for Akaashi as he peered down over the mop of toned hair to his book, arms wrapped around Kenma’s middle.

“When is the performance?” Akaashi asked without lifting his eyes from his book that Kuroo was sure he wasn’t really reading.

“Well,” Kuroo said, setting his bag down on the kitchen table, “It’s technically not a performance. It's a speech, but anyway,” he waved a carefully lazy hand through the air as he leaned back against the table, a wistful smile peaking through, “Sawamura Daichi gets here two weeks from now,”

“That’s awesome!” Bokuto said enthusiastically as he leaned against the wall of the kitchen, “What’re you gonna wear?”

Kuroo felt his heart stutter in his chest as a look of horror crossed his face. Ripples of fresh waves of fear filled his veins as his eyes widened, mouth parting slightly as he stared into nothing. He was already worried about his hair, but he hadn’t even thought of that.

What was he going to _wear_?

“Here he goes…” Kenma muttered and Akaashi chuckled softly.

Kuroo brought his hands up to tangle in his hair, tugging frantically at the messy strands, “No, no, no, no-”

“Woah, hey. Calm down, bro!” Bokuto said, waving his hands as he pushed off the wall to approach Kuroo.

“Bro this is horrible! I don’t have anything nice to wear! He’s going to think I’m a total slob because my hair is a disaster and I’m not wearing anything nice and he’s not going to want to talk to me and then-”

“Bro, bro, bro! Dude, chill. Chill, listen to me,” Bokuto said, his comforting words not matching the painful way he squeezed Kuroo’s arms. Kuroo yelped at the sharp sensation, but stopped his blabbering, letting himself be drawn in by Bokuto’s intense gaze, “We’re gonna make you the sharpest looking guy there. That Sawamura guy isn’t gonna be able to look at anyone else,”

Kuroo released a slow breath, nodding eventually as he let himself relax, “Yeah…” he nodded more firmly, confidence returning, “Yeah, I got this,”

Bokuto grinned, raising his arms, “You got this!”

Kuroo pumped his fists in the air with a laugh, “I got this!”

“Would you stop freaking out now?” Kenma asked from the couch, practically consumed by Akaashi’s embrace now.

“I was never freaking out,” Kuroo retorted, “I’m just expressive,”

“Sure you are, Kuroo-san,” Akaashi said quietly as he turned the page, earning a smug smile from Kenma.

“I came here to have a good time, and honestly, I’m just feeling so attacked right now-”

“Shut up, Kuro,”

* * * *  
The next two weeks passed by too slowly for Kuroo’s liking, each day dragging on pointlessly. Kuroo had felt like a slug making its way across an impossibly long table, the horizon always there, but never moving any closer. That was, until the day finally came, and suddenly, as the hour approached for him to leave, it seemed he didn’t have near enough time.

“My hair!” Kuroo whined for the umpteenth time as he fussed with the black mess in the mirror.

“You’ll never fix it,” Kenma said helpfully from where he was sitting on the counter, idly pulling a brush through his own hair.

Kuroo pouted, “Don’t you have a game to be playing?”

“Akaashi’s borrowing it,” he said dismissively, glancing at the clock, “You only have twenty more minutes,”

“What?!” Kuroo cursed and abandoned his futile attempts at taming his hair as he sprinted for his room to pull on his clothes.

Kuroo stepped in front of the floor-length mirror on his wall and turned to check his angles. He and Bokuto had spent practically all week putting together his outfit, with occasional calls to reality from Akaashi and Kenma, and Kuroo was very happy with the result.

The red chiffon shirt hung off his frame nicely, the top few buttons left undone to plunge the neckline just slightly, exposing the edges of his collarbones. He had rolled the sleeves up past his elbows, showing off the tattoos that curled around his forearms and disappeared under the sleeves. Kuroo was proud of the few tattoos he had, and they would always have a special place in his heart. Most of them, he was only slightly embarrassed to admit, were taken from the metaphors Sawamura weaved throughout his speeches, but each message that was now inked into Kuroo’s skin had impacted him enough to warrant a permanent place on his body. Kuroo’s favorites were the fluffy, black cat that curled itself into the crook of his elbow, and the long, golden watercolor koi that drifted up his forearm. The art was gorgeous, as were the stories and experiences behind them.

‘And the man telling them,’ Kuroo scowled in the mirror, ‘Okay, just because I can admit he’s attractive doesn’t mean I like him,’ a snarky reply from Kenma rang somewhere in the back of his mind, but he ignored in favor of admiring his outfit.

Kuroo adjusted the hem of the shirt where it was tucked into his black skinny jeans, accentuating the slight curve of his waist. The jeans were slightly ripped, showing off bare glimpses of Kuroo’s thighs. To complete the look, he had splurged a little on a new pair of black and red, low-rise boots. They had a slight heel that clicked against the floor as he walked, and Kuroo couldn’t help but feel a little bit powerful in them.

“Are you done admiring yourself?” Kenma asked from the doorway, game system back in his hands.

“You don’t think this is too much?” Kuroo asked without looking away from the mirror.

“You asked me the same thing when you got those piercings. And the tattoos,”

Kuroo chuckled, “I did, yeah,”

He stepped closer to the mirror, turning his face to look at the piercings he never seemed to notice anymore. Unless he was nervous, of course. He had three piercings on each ear and one small ring through his left nostril, all obsidian and silver.

“You look fine, Kuro,” Kenma said.

When Kuroo looked at him, his eyes were raised from his game, face impassive. Kuroo smiled at him. He gracefully grabbed a pair of sunglasses from his bedside table and snapped them open, sliding them on his face as he peered at his best friend over the rim, “Just fine?”

“Worse now,” Kenma said mercilessly, turning back to his game.

Kuroo leaned against the wall with a groan, “No sunglasses?”

“It’s almost sunset, Kuro. And you’ll be inside,”

“You’re right,” Kuroo conceded with a sigh, slipping the glasses off and depositing them back onto the small table. He looked at Kenma for a moment before spinning around, “Good otherwise?” Kenma hummed, “You’re not even looking!”

“I’ve seen you enough,” Kenma said, turning away from him to walk down the hallway, “Two minutes,”

Kuroo sputtered and scrambled for his wallet, double and triple checking his phone to make sure he still had the confirmation email for his VIP ticket pulled up, before he was finally standing in front of the door.

“You got this, bro!” Bokuto said, slapping him on the back, “We made you look like the sexiest guy out there,”

Kuroo grinned at him, “We sure did! Just look at me,” he said with a broad gesture to himself, “I’m gorgeous,”

“You were insecure not two minutes ago,” Kenma said.

“That’s not important-”

“You’ll be late,”

“Right!” Kuroo said quickly, lunging for the front door. He paused and cast what he hoped was a confident smile back to him friends, “Off I go,”

“So go,” Kenma said.

“Bye!” Bokuto shouted enthusiastically as Akaashi gave him a small wave.

“Good luck, Kuroo-san,”

Kuroo nodded once before pushing himself out the door and down to his waiting ride. He was about to watch and then _meet_ Sawamura Daichi. The best and most famous inspirational speaker in all of Japan, at least according to Kuroo. He smiled to himself as he peered out the window, watching as Tokyo sped by him in a blur. He was about to meet his idol.

‘And Sawamura Daichi is about to meet his biggest fan,’ he thought smugly, chuckling to himself.

Kuroo prided himself in knowing every single one of Sawamura’s speeches. He didn’t go so far as to have them memorized, at least not all of them, but if someone gave him just the title of a speech Kuroo could tell him what it was about, maybe quote some of the bigger phrases, and explain how Sawamura’s experience had sparked that topic.

Sawamura shared so much about his life, Kuroo almost felt like he knew him. He knew that was a pretentious assumption to make, but he couldn’t help it. Sawamura always spoke so informally, like every person who he was speaking to was his friend. He somehow made a motivational speech feel more like a friendly pick-me-up, and Kuroo was in awe. He had been captured by the first words he’d heard from Sawamura.

It had been 3 a.m. or sometime similar, and Kuroo had been absently scrolling through YouTube. He hadn’t really been watching any of the videos he clicked on when suddenly a smooth baritone had rumbled through his headphones. It had been nothing more than Sawamura’s introduction video, but the way his earth-toned eyes had peered through the camera and his deep voice had drifted through Kuroo’s ears had pulled his attention to him. There had been something different about him, something more personal.

Kuroo had spent the next couple weeks watching all of his videos. It felt like taking a trip through someone else’s life, learning the details, the ups and the downs, and watching them grow from it. It was beautiful, and uplifting, and-

“Hey,” the cab driver’s voice jerked Kuroo away from his thoughts, “This your stop?”

“Uh, yes! Right,” Kuroo quickly gathered his things and paid the driver.

He stepped out into the street with a sigh, one that started in excitement and ended with a groan of annoyance. Kuroo was almost an hour early for the speech, and the line to enter the venue was already almost rounding the block. With a slight drag in his feet, Kuroo made his way to the back of the line to wait.

* * * *  
The line had finally started to make it’s way inside with about thirty minutes to spare, and the line behind Kuroo seemed to stretch on forever.

‘Glad I got here early,’ he thought to himself as he shuffled forward.

Now, he was only one person away from the two ladies scanning tickets, but the man in front of him was having an issue, and it was fixing to drive Kuroo up the walls.

Though he was a little peeved by the delay, Kuroo had to admit that the woman dealing with the man was gorgeous. She had shoulder-length, black hair, stunning grey eyes, and a beauty mark on the lower left side of her chin. Her thin-rimmed glasses sat lightly on her delicate features.

“I’m telling you, this is the email! Why isn’t the code working?” the man said, voice growing more agitated with each breath.

“I don’t know, sir,” the lady responded calmly. “Perhaps if you step this way, we can sort out your issue for you?” she gestured to an area off to the side.

‘Customer-service workers are amazing…’ Kuroo thought, ‘I’d have bitten his head off already,’

“Sir?” a small voice called for his attention, “I’m sorry about the hold up, but I can get you over here,” Kuroo smiled enthusiastically as he turned to the other woman, stepping around the increasingly angry man toward her with his phone held out proudly.

Where the other woman was mysterious and elegant, this woman was soft and cute. She had round, chocolate eyes and short, blonde hair that bounced around her. She looked younger than the other woman, though not by much, but was certainly more nervous, if the shuffling of her feet was any indication.

“Oh!” she said after scanning the ticket, turning a bright smile up at Kuroo, “You have a VIP ticket! If you’ll follow Azumane-san,” she said, gesturing to a tall, rugged looking man with long brown hair that was tied back in a bun, and a bit of scruff on his chin, “He’ll take you to the VIP seating,”

Kuroo couldn’t help the small, exhilarated laugh that escaped him as he smiled and nodded, pocketing his phone, “Yeah! That’d be awesome,”

The man, Azumane-san, gave him an almost shy smile, which was a bit surprising, and gestured for him to follow, “I’m sure you’ll want to get seated quickly, but we’ll go through the main doors,”

Kuroo followed him toward the front, puzzled, “Why the main doors?”

Azumane-san smiled, “You’ll see,”

And in just a few moments, Kuroo did see. Sawamura was standing out by the front doors, greeting each person with a smile and a handshake as they walked inside.

Azumane-san let out a chuckle beside him, “I figured as much,”

“What?” Kuroo asked, a bit defensive, but mostly joking, “You expect the owner of a VIP ticket to _not_ be excited when they see their idol?”

“Idol?” he asked.

“Well, yeah. Like someone’s favorite celebrity, their idol,” Kuroo responded, willing the rising heat not to show on his face.

“I suppose Daichi is kind of famous,” Azumane-san chuckled, one hand rubbing the back of his neck, “I kind of forget sometimes,”

“You forget?” Kuroo knew his tone was incredulous, but he couldn’t help it, “How can you forget?”

“O-oh… Well, we’ve known each other since high school and I-”

“You’re _friends_ with Sawamura Daichi?!” Kuroo would never admit to the slight squeak that may or may not have appeared in his voice for a moment, “Oh my gosh. Dude, that’s amazing!”

“Yeah, uh. He’s a great guy,” Azumane-san said awkwardly, looking a little unsure in the face of Kuroo’s adornment.

Kuroo decided to tone it down a few notches as they waited in the secondary line to get to the front doors, but the closer they got to Sawamura Daichi, the harder Kuroo found it to contain himself.

Finally, it was his turn.

Sawamura turned away from the last person he had greeted, a wide smile in place as he peered at Kuroo. If Kuroo didn’t have self-control, he would have combusted on the spot. Instead, he strode forward with maybe a little too much swagger, and gripped Sawamura’s hand firmly.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Kuroo said.

“Trust me,” Sawamura replied happily, “The pleasure’s all mine.

“Oh?” Kuroo grinned and leaned in, pressing into Sawamura’s space just a bit, “I wouldn’t be too sure about that, Sa’amura,”

“Oh. I am,” Sawamura’s grip tightened slightly, a challenge, and Kuroo responded in kind.

“Can’t wait to meet you after,”

“I hope you enjoy your time here,”

“Daichi,” Azumane-san whispered, “I need to get him to the VIP section, and the line is getting longer,”

“Right,” Sawamura said, releasing Kuroo’s hand, much to his disappointment. Kuroo nearly pouted, but Sawamura traded the handshake for a smile, one much more comfortable looking than before, and Kuroo’s heart nearly melted, “I’ll see you later, then,”

“Of course,” was all Kuroo managed before Azumane-san was gently pushing him through the doors and away from most of the crowd.

“You’ll be up here with the other VIPs,” Azumane-san said as he guided him up a set of stairs.

When they reached the top, Kuroo could see the whole theatre stretched out before them. All the people were milling about down below, trying to sit as close as they could to the stage within their given seating areas. The only regret Kuroo had with the VIP tickets was that he had to be so far away from the stage, unlike the front-row seat ticket he had snagged last year.

‘I get to talk to Sawamura for an hour afterwards,’ Kuroo thought as he excitedly took his seat, ‘That more than makes up for the distance during the speech,’

There were four other people sitting in the VIP area, chatting excitedly with one another. They were all girls, maybe a couple years younger than Kuroo, and they were obviously dressed to impress.

‘To impress Sawamura,’ he corrected, ‘They think they’ll be able to catch Sawamura’s eye,’

Kuroo tried not to think too hard on what the burning feeling in his chest meant when he imagined the four girls hounding Sawamura for his attention. He just wanted to spend time with his idol, he was sure that these girls were thinking the same thing.

“Hey,” one of the girls sang as she turned to Kuroo, a floral patterned shirt billowing around her, “So you’re the one who managed to steal the last ticket?”

Kuroo chuckled slightly. There was something sharp in her tone that gave him an uneasy feeling, “Steal?” he asked simply.

“Well yeah!” she said, as if it were obvious, “There was _gonna_ be five of us here, but Matsuda-chan couldn’t get her ticket in time,”

“Well, I’m sorry she-”

“But it’s fine, you know?” she interrupted, “It's not like one person deserves a ticket over another. Right?” she was still smiling, but her tone had turned blatantly sharp and biting.

Kuroo felt that burn in his chest return as he leveled her with a glare, pitching his voice low as he leaned forward, a warning in his breath, “That’s right. Everyone here tonight, got here by nothing more than luck. And I think we’d all like to stay,”

“Um,” Azumane-san’s voice pulled both silently fuming individuals away from their focus, “Is there a problem?”

“No,” Kuroo said before the girl could respond, leaning back in his chair and folding one leg over the other, “No problem, Azumane-san,”

With a short nod, Azumane-san backed away, returning to his silent vigil in the corner of the room, and the lights in the theatre began to dim. Applause broke out across the room as Sawamura Daichi stepped out on stage, waving and smiling brightly.

“How are we all doing tonight?” he asked the crowd, and all it took was the sound of his voice to make Kuroo forget about the nasty individual he was currently seated next to.

* * * *  
Daichi’s voice had practically melted Kuroo to the chair. His speech was stellar. The metaphors were captivating and the lessons were thought-provoking. One particular story almost had Kuroo in tears, but he had worked hard to keep his skin clear for today and he wasn’t about to meet Sawamura with puffy eyes.

The only down-side to the experience was the occasional chatting from the four girls on his left, but luckily, they were mostly quiet… Until the lights came back on.

‘At least they saved most of it till the end,’ Kuroo thought as he rose from his seat and stretched, muscles complaining from the lack of movement.

“If you all would gather your things and follow me, I’ll take you backstage to meet Sawamura-san,” Azumane-san said, prompting the group of girls to jump up and push past Kuroo to the doors.

“Ladies first,” Kuroo muttered to himself as he followed the train of people down the stairs.

They followed Azumane-san through the crowd and a side-door that led them to where, Kuroo assumed, was backstage. There were people milling around with mics and gear and all sorts of equipment, Kuroo even recognized the two ladies from the ticket checkpoint.

“Hello!” someone sang behind them and they all turned to see a man with silver hair and hazel-brown eyes waiting for them. He had a clipboard in hand and was wearing a headset that almost obscured the tiny beauty mark under his left eye, “My name is Sugawara Koushi and I’ll be taking over from here! Thanks Asahi,” he said, nodding to Azumane-san who smiled and nodded back before wandering away.

“Where’s Sawamura-san?” the girl in the floral print shirt asked.

Sugawara laughed a bit, “That’s exactly where I’ll be taking you! If you’ll follow me right this way,” he said. 

He guided them through the back until he stopped in front of a closed door, glancing at his clipboard as he spoke, “Just a couple rules to go over. We’ll do pictures first, please don’t take any after that, ask before you touch, and when your hour is up I will ask you to leave,” he smiled at them, something sinister appearing in his eyes, “If you don’t, we’ll remove you by force!” he said happily, “Understood?” They all quickly nodded their agreement, “Good! Now, get in there and have fun!” and without any more delay, he opened the door for them.

The girls managed to slip in before Kuroo, not to his surprise. They also took more pictures with Sawamura, also not to his surprise. All of this was a bit annoying, but he was still excited to get to talk to Sawamura. That was, until he kept getting interrupted.

“So, when you-”

“Oh my gosh!” one of the girls exclaimed over Kuroo for the umpteenth time, and he had to suppress a growl, “Okay, we all have a bet. How do you take your coffee?”

“I prefer tea personally,”

One of the girls squealed, “I was right! I was right!”

Kuroo gritted his teeth for a moment then smiled, trying to look friendly and peaceable despite the growing pit of rage in his stomach, “What kind of-?”

“Sawamura-san! Sawamura-san!” one of the girls yelled, practically stepping in between Kuroo and his idol as she held out her phone, “This is Matsuda-chan! She couldn’t be here because someone else stole the last ticket, but she wanted to say hello!”

“Hi!” sang an excited voice from over the phone.

Sawamura waved a little and smiled awkwardly, “Hello, I’m sorry I couldn’t meet you today,”

“That’s okay!”

Kuroo didn’t bother listening to the rest of their conversation. He stood there, simmering the fiery pit of his stomach and the burning feeling in his chest, waiting for an opening where he could butt in and say more than three words to Sawamura.

‘I paid too damn much to have this day ruined by a bunch of petty girls,’ he thought bitterly as he sipped on his stale cup of water.

Just as Kuroo was working up the courage to properly butt-in with no remorse, the door clicked open behind them and Sugawara’s voice rang out through the room, dropping Kuroo’s heart into the pit of his stomach, dousing the fire of rage into cold, heavy sadness.

“Alright everyone,” he said as he propped the door open, eyes trained on his clipboard as he scribbled something down, “Your hour is officially up! Please remember our rules from before you entered the room,”

The girls whined, one might have been crying, but they all trudged out the door as they waved and sang goodbyes to _Sawamura-san_. Kuroo felt nothing but numb as he followed them out, only managing a half-hearted goodbye over his shoulder.

As he walked by Sugawara with downcast eyes, a hand landed on his chest, holding him back.

“Not you, droopy,” Sugawara said quietly.

“What?” Kuroo said, surprised.

“Just get back inside before you have a bunch of whiny fan-girls on your tail,” he replied, and Kuroo didn’t need to be told twice.

Without really thinking, he turned and stepped back inside the room, the door clicking shut behind him, and he was suddenly aware that he was alone.

‘No, not alone,’ he thought, staring at the broad-shouldered man still sitting on the couch, ‘Alone with _Sawamura Daichi_ ,’

“Sorry,” Sawamura said with a sheepish smile as he stood, “The others kept talking over you,” Kuroo watched as Sawamura shifted on his feet, thinking for a moment before he fixed Kuroo with that priceless smile of his, “I have a couple minutes before I have to be anywhere, if you’d like a refund?”

Kuroo’s breath caught in his throat, some sort of lump preventing him from breathing or speaking properly, and Kuroo opened and closed his mouth dumbly.

“Kuroo-san?”

“Yes!” he said suddenly, clearing his throat, “Sorry, yes. Yes, absolutely. A-and just Kuroo is fine. Heck, you could call me Tetsurou if you wanted,” he laughed awkwardly, pulling at the back of his hair nervously.

‘It’s been ten seconds and I’ve already blown it,’

Sawamura let out a chuckle, “I think I’ll stick with Kuroo for now, but you can call me Daichi if you like,” he said while picking up his phone.

Kuroo relaxed slightly, a smile growing on his face as he walked over to him, “I think I like Sa’amura more,”

Sawamura scoffed, “You’re not even saying it right,”

“Sure I am. Sa-a-mu-ra,” Kuroo enunciated with a sly grin.

“I can get Suga back in here-”

“No, no, no, no!” Kuroo backpedalled, waving his hands in front of him, “Please, I’ll behave,”

“Will you?” Sawamura’s smile was positively wicked.

It wasn’t one Kuroo had seen before, usually his smiles were bright or genuine or tender or sad, all of which melted Kuroo into a puddle of happiness, but this new smile sparked something else inside him. It was sharp and cunning and mischievous and _dangerous_ , and Kuroo was more than tempted to touch the figuratively hot stove.

Kuroo hummed and leaned in, “Maybe not,”

Sawamura laughed and gently shoved Kuroo’s shoulder as he turned away, walking to the door on the other side of the room.

“Where are you going?”

“Hm? Oh! I suppose I should ask more properly,” Sawamura said, looking back at Kuroo with one hand on the door handle, “I’ve been stuck inside a plane for hours and then this building full of people, and I’d really like to take a walk before I have to get on another flight. Since you had such a terrible excuse for a VIP experience, would you like to join me?”

“Well, why didn’t you say?” Kuroo said as he walked up behind Sawamura, trying to contain his excitement, but his grin betrayed him.

“I thought I just did,” Sawamura replied as he opened the door and slipped outside.

The air was pleasantly warm as they strolled down the sidewalk, the Tokyo lights now on full display in the dark of the night. Kuroo reveled in the feeling of walking next to Sawamura. It was something so simple, so casual, so human, but it was because of those reasons that it was so special to him.

“So,” Sawamura began, “Are you from Tokyo?”

Kuroo smiled as he looked up at the lights, “Yeah, I grew up here. Do you come to the city often?”

“No, actually. I tend to do more talks in smaller towns. They remind me of where I’m from,”

“Miyagi, right?”

“Mhm,”

“You really are a country boy,” Kuroo laughed.

“You say that like it’s an insult, city boy,”

“It might be,” Kuroo snarked, “Who wants to live in the country?”

“I do, mind you,” Sawamura chuckled, “It’s where all my stories come from,”

“Okay,” Kuroo conceded, “If the country means I get to live like your stories, then it might be worth living there,”

“All it took was mentioning my stories to convince you?” Sawamura asked, amused.

“But of course!” Kuroo said, “Those stories mean something to me too,” he stretched his arms out, showcasing the images inked into his skin, “There’s a reason some of them are with me forever now,”

“Are you serious?” Sawamura said, stopping abruptly to stare at Kuroo’s tattoos with a look he could only describe as wonder.

“Uh, yeah,” Kuroo said, suddenly conscious of the way Sawamura’s gaze made him skin burn, both on his arms and on his face.

‘Please be too dark to see, please be too dark to see,’ Kuroo pleaded as he tried to calm the rising heat in his cheeks.

“Hold on, it's too dark,” Sawamura said. Kuroo almost sighed in relief, but his breath caught in his throat when Sawamura’s hand closed over his wrist, tugging him toward a streetlamp.

Kuroo was frozen, but Sawamura’s touch didn’t leave him when they stopped under the light. His hands were rough and calloused as the pads of his fingers traced the lines under Kuroo’s skin. His touch left a tingling sensation where Sawamura’s skin had brushed his; feather-light breaths of friction that seemed to draw them together. 

“They’re beautiful,” Sawamura whispered.

“Your stories are beautiful,” Kuroo whispers back, watching the way the light flickered off of Sawamura’s face.

‘I wish I could trace his face the way he’s tracing my tattoos,’ he thought suddenly, and for once, Kuroo didn’t push it away.

Sawamura turned his face up, earth-toned eyes gazing into Kuroo’s, both soft and intense. Neither of them moved away, despite the bare inches of space between them.

“Do you always take your failed VIPs out for late night walks?” Kuroo asked softly.

“No,” Sawamura replied, a tender smile appearing on his lips, “No, I think it's just you,”

“Why?” the question passed his lips before the thought was fully formed.

Sawamura paused for a moment, hands still resting against Kuroo’s arms, “Because-”

“Daichi!” a voice ripped through the air, and they both looked up abruptly from where they were huddled together under the streetlamp. Suga was standing with the door open, waving to them with an apologetic smile, “Sorry Kuroo, but Daichi’s got to leave if he doesn’t want to miss his flight,”

“That’s alright,” Kuroo called back, though a new wave of disappointment settled in his stomach.

“Hey,” Sawamura said, tugging gently on Kuroo’s sleeve. When Kuroo turned back to him, Sawamura had pulled out his phone and his cheeks were puffed out slightly, a gesture Kuroo recognized as his thinking face. Kuroo tried not to grin at how cute he looked.

“Yes?”

Sawamura sighed a bit and tapped the side of his phone, “Well, I would like this to not be last time I get to talk to you… considering you only got about five minutes of talking time out of the hour you paid for,”

“I would like this to not be the last time I talk to you either, but,” Kuroo looked down at him, worrying his lip for a moment, “But, I’d really like to talk to you as… more than a fan,”

One of Sawamura’s genuine smiles split across his face as he nodded, breathing a sigh of relief, “That’s what I was hoping for too. Here,” he said, turning his phone over to Kuroo, the screen lit up on a ‘new contact’ tab.

Kuroo quickly typed in his information and let Sawamura do the same on his, their hands brushing as they passed their phones back to each other.

“We gotta go, Daichi,” Suga called from the door.

“Right, coming!” Sawamura said, still not moving from his spot. He looked up at Kuroo, and smiled, “Until next time, stranger?”

Kuroo smiled back at him, “Until next time, stranger,”

**Author's Note:**

> Whew! I loved writing this, but man, am I glad this event is over now XD
> 
> This was my first time ever participating in a fandom event, and I rushed these fics so much... So I'm just glad these are finished! (we don't talk about the fact that I finished this, this morning shhh) I'll try to be more prepared for the KuroDai Mid-Birthday Event next year lol.
> 
> Please let me know what you thought of my story in the comments! I will write a thousand fics just to get one Kudos, and Bookmarks make me cry happy tears X3
> 
> Thank you for reading! Have a good rest of your December! And happy (early) Holidays! Please come again ^^


End file.
